Ms Doorley, speaking on RTE Radio One, said that the school had a critical incident plan in place to help support the children and parents at the school cope with the tragedy.

In a statement she later added: "We are deeply saddened by these events. Our sympathy and thoughts are with the Murphy and Chada families and friends."Eoghan was going into fourth class an Ruairi was going into senior infants in our school and they will be greatly missed by all who knewthem."The community understands the family's need for privacy at this difficult time.

"The school is open to parents to support them and to offer advice and guidance. We would ask you to respect our privacy at this time."

A postmortem is due to be carried out on the two boys' bodies after they were discovered in the boot of their dads' car in Westport, Co Mayo, yesterday evening.

Their father, who was driving the car when it crashed into a wall, is being treated for his injuries in hospital.

A Child Rescue Ireland alert was raised, the first time ever, at lunchtime yesterday after the boys' went off with their dad on Sunday evening and failed to return.